Abstract
The present study was carried out to study the effect of acute doses of sodium fluoride on the collagen content of the rat kidneys. Five groups of rats were studied: (i) control rats and (ii) rats divided into four subgroups according to the dose of NaF. Results showed that higher doses of sodium fluoride 10, 20 and 30 mg of NaF/kg body weight caused a significant decrease in the collagen content of the kidneys when compared to the control rats. Electron microscope studies supported these results and showed the sodium fluoride doses 10, 20 and 30 mg of NaF/kg body weight caused disruption of ordered collagen fibrils of the rat kidneys. (C) 2010 King Saud University. All rights reserved.